Stock Up for Ski Season with This Sweet Winter Gear

Brace yourselves. Winter is coming, and you'll need the right gear when the snow hits the ski hill. Thankfully, the folks at Backcountry have us covered with their Winter Clearance Sale, now through 10/9.

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These gloves feature Hestra’s famously soft cowhide that is warm and durable. The Pro Model also includes an extra layer of synthetic insulation to keep your hands toasty on chilly days. The insulation doesn’t add too much bulk though, so you can still adjust zippers or fiddle with ski or snowboard bindings with them on.

Last year, these goggles were our go-to pair. The magnetic lens swap is simple and straightforward, so you can easily adjust to changing weather while on an alpine ascent. We also like the wide field of vision and the Contact's subtle style.

In our review of the best ski pants of 2019, our tester wrote, “the Patsey Marley excels on all-day missions.” Convenient features like side zippers and four pockets allowed us to store plenty of snacks and easily use the bathroom when we needed.

The Ghost Whisperer is our Gear Guy’s favorite lightweight down jacket. The 800-fill-power down is toasty, and the feather treatment helps it stay dry longer, even in wet environments. If you’re concerned about weight, this is the jacket you want—it weighs less than eight ounces.

The Lifa Active Light is one of our Gear Guy’s favorite sun shirts. The shirt’s cut gives it more of a ski-mountaineering feel, but the lightweight synthetic fabric will wick moisture and keep you cool whether you’re going hard in the sun on a mountain bike or spending the day at the ski resort.

Last winter, our contributor Heather Hansman wrote a review of the best all-mountain skis for women. Out of dozens of pairs, she named the Daemon Birdie the best playful freeride ski. “The Daemon Birdie is loose and playful, surfy in softer snow, easy to direct in crud, and well suited to pivoty turns in bumps,” Hansman wrote.

We found Smartwool’s PhD Ski Light socks essential for resort skiing. “It’s tough to beat this blend of merino and synthetic fibers for the best mix of warmth, plushness, and sturdiness,” our tester wrote.

Our Gear Guy put five well-known brands of snow boots through the wringer and these kicks ranked second in the test. The seam-sealed waxed-canvas upper and rubber bottom are completely waterproof and the nine-millimeter felt liner is removable for easy washing and drying.

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We haven’t found a better bang-for-your-buck camping bundle than this one. With a four-person tent, two sleeping pads and sleeping bags, this package is ideal for the budget-conscious camper and backpacker. “You'll be hard-pressed to find a less expensive tent that’s worth bringing into the backcountry,” our Gear Guy wrote.

We're just as likely to sport this shirt at the campsite as we are at the office. That's because it's simultaneously smartly tailored and tough as nails, thanks to the fact it's made of burly, sustainably-grown hemp. During the summer, a couple of these polos is all we need.

We included these jeans in our roundup of retro-inspired men’s gear that we love. This pair is “not only ultra-durable but also insanely comfy due to its built-in stretch,” wrote columnist Jakob Schiller. “I’ve biked, hiked, and worked in these pants, and they look better with wear.”

This is the third iteration of one of our favorite trail-running shoes. “The Sense Ride raised the bar for every other trail shoe in the test,” our tester wrote. “Nothing came close to beating its combo of give-’em-hell speed and quick-stepping technical chops with an accommodating midsole.”

The Ariel AG 55 won our women's backpacking test. “The Ariel is a feature-rich, versatile pack that presents a case study in how a sturdy, weight-bearing suspension design is often more comfortable than a design that shaves ounces by way of flimsier built-in support,” our testers wrote.

We featured this folio in our roundup of gear that gets better with age. It has room for a 13-inch laptop, smartphone, business cards, tablet, and notebook to boot. Our tester wrote that the environmentally certified leather "will make you feel like executive material."

Our 2019 Summer Buyer's Guide review sums up our thoughts on the Ignite: “It is everything you could want in a straightforward car-camping stove,” our tester wrote. “It has two 10,000-BTU burners, a piezo igniter that we used a hundred times without a hiccup, and space for two ten-inch pans as we cooked up pancakes and bacon.”

This trailblazer was one of our favorite shoes for long and steep runs. “The Caldera 3 serves up road-worthy comfort in a trail-ready package,” we wrote. We found the EVA midsole soft and springy, while a protective toe bumper and mesh upper gives it the mountain chops to flourish on the trail.

The Moab shoes have been around for years now, garnering love and a cult-like following from hikers across the country. This low-volume option for women is completely waterproof and has a Vibram outsole for extra grip and durability.

Our Gear Guy praised this shirt in his test of the best performance flannels. “The Fjord deserves points for its 100 percent organic cotton, which felt soft and supple, and it had just enough give to never slow me down as I rode the Jabberwocky Trail outside Ashland, Oregon,” he wrote.

Editor Ariella Gintzler loves the two-ounce Cita because she barely notices it when she's running. “Internal pleats on the forearms raise the jacket away from your skin so the fabric doesn’t stick when you sweat,” she wrote. Plus, vents in the back prevent clamminess that’s typical of ripstop wind jackets.

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